The last Alisa Kleybanova's match prior to hercancer diagnosis was the second round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, and now, two years later, the Russian is again reintroducing herself to competitive tennis (she had one comeback in Miami last year, but even though she won the first round, it was too exhausting for her still fragile body), this time at the $10,000 Landisville tournament, the smallest event she has played since the age of 14.

The week the big WTA names of her caliber are competing in Rome, where a victory in just the first round gets you close to $13,000 and 70 ranking points, Kleybanova is playing in Landisville where the champion earns mere 18 ranking points and the prize of $1,440, and not to mention that there are no perks such as ball kids, line judges, chair umpires and electronic scoreboard. But the 23-year-old Kleybanova, who was ranked 26th the moment the disease struck, has her goal in her mind: to maintain her eligibility for a protected ranking.